Mad Hatter Imagery wrote:
Is a 2 hour minimum standard practice with most models? I assume not or they wouldn't mention it as to not catch one off guard? I recently was considering doing a shoot and the model's hourly rate was just barely at the edge of my budget when she told me she had a 2 hour minimum which of course broke the camel's back. What is the norm these days?

I would not say the norm, but I would say common. OTOH, (and I am not very good at doing this) if you propose the pay and time needed you may be pleasantly surprised at what models actually accept, different from their quoted rate.

Mad Hatter Imagery wrote:
What is the norm these days?

I don’t know if it’s the norm (I don’t think there is a norm these days), but it is common. I understand it, and I too have a 2 hour minimum when I’m hired.

Lights and modifiers have to be pulled out, set up, and preliminarily tested, often in multiple sets. Backgrounds have to be hung, furniture moved, props brought it, a shoot plan sketched out. The model can wait while I do all that stuff after s/he arrives, but that’s going to chew up a considerable fraction of a single hour booked. For me, it makes more sense to have a multiple hour minimum, and build that fixed prep time (cost) into my rates.

A model is going to have parallel fixed efforts/time/cost in addition to the variables specific to any one shoot. If you're hiring the model, you're paying for those costs regardless if it's billed as a separate line item or rolled into a rate where it makes time and financial sense for the model to set a minimum.

Jerry Nemeth wrote:
A 2 hour minimum is common for traveling models.

and if you are renting a studio, they require a minimum of two hrs.

Vector One Photography wrote:
Yes and I can understand why.  It's not the hour they are with you, it's the thirty minutes getting it together with their make-up and outfits, then it's thirty or sixty minutes travel to the shoot, an hour at the shoot and then thirty to sixty minutes back home. So she has a total of two and a half to three and a half hours of her time to do your one hour shoot. If you are paying her $100 an hour it comes out to 28 to 40 dollars an hour. If you are paying her $60.00 an hour then she's making 17 to 24 dollars an hour for her time. That's great pay for an office or counter sales job but not for modeling.

EXACTLY! It's the same reason most photographers have a 2-hour minimum booking time. Personally, I'm starting to not take bookings unless it's a 1/2 day rate anymore for the same reasons you mentioned. "But all you have to do is show up and take photos for 15 minutes. I don't understand why you're billing me for so much time!" Before the shoot I clear and format the cards, charge batteries, clean lenses, drive to the shoot, sometimes walk a long distance to the shoot, drive home, dump the photos, load them into LR, tag the photos, cull them, post-process them, upload them, and send them to the client. All those things don't sound like a lot individually, but added up, it's hours of work for a "15 minute shoot".

Vector One Photography wrote:
Yes and I can understand why.  It's not the hour they are with you, it's the thirty minutes getting it together with their make-up and outfits, then it's thirty or sixty minutes travel to the shoot, an hour at the shoot and then thirty to sixty minutes back home. So she has a total of two and a half to three and a half hours of her time to do your one hour shoot. If you are paying her $100 an hour it comes out to 28 to 40 dollars an hour. If you are paying her $60.00 an hour then she's making 17 to 24 dollars an hour for her time. That's great pay for an office or counter sales job but not for modeling. 

I had a model that had a four hour minimum.  She said it took her just as long to get ready for a two hour shoot as a four hour shoot.  She also said if I book her from 8 to 10 AM she probably can't get another booking for the 10-noon slot. She was not a traveling model that books two hours slots all day long, she was a real working model.

This!

When traveling, a two- (sometimes three-) hour minimum is kindly requested. However, the minimum does mostly depend on the total distance to and from the shoot location(s).

Yani S wrote:
Odd!?! I never paid for a model. Either they paid me or I traded. Isnt that the point in being in business as a photographer. To have people pay you.

It's not odd to most of us here. We are not in business as photographers, we are photographers who are trying to create images that please us, not a client; so we do book and pay models as we are the CLIENT.

JPV_IMAGES wrote:

It's not odd to most of us here. We are not in business as photographers, we are photographers who are trying to create images that please us, not a client; so we do book and pay models as we are the CLIENT.

I agree.  Most of the time I book a model I pay because doing sexy shoots is a hobby for me.  I am the client as well as the photographer.  I do shoot professionally as well but most of that work is either political, corporate, or family photos.  I value my sexy shoots and I also value the great models that take the time and energy to come model for me. 

I occasionally shoot catalogue as well but there is a client that pays that fee.

Mad Hatter Imagery wrote:
Is a 2 hour minimum standard practice with most models? I assume not or they wouldn't mention it as to not catch one off guard? I recently was considering doing a shoot and the model's hourly rate was just barely at the edge of my budget when she told me she had a 2 hour minimum which of course broke the camel's back. What is the norm these days?

Yes, a 2 hour min seems to be standard in my neck of the woods. I recently decided to skip TFP shoots and start paying. Deleted all the TFPs and starting afresh. I look at it like cooking - get the best ingredients available. The 2 hour min took me by surprise at first, but after considering what many people have posted here, it totally makes sense:

- travel time - figure at least an hour before and after. If it's a 2 hour min and the model spends 2 hours travelling that makes her rate effectively half of what you are paying her. If it's a 1 hour min, and she's spending 3 hours (including travel) then she's making 1/3rd of what you are paying her an hour. IE $100/hour becomes $33/hour on a 1 hour min. Whereas $100/hour becomes $50/hour on a 2 hour min.

I actually don't think 2 hours is enough for a good paid shoot. I think I'm going to save my pennies and book 3 hour shoots. The model will be happier and there's more time to try different moods/sets/locations/frames.